Whether you drive for your child’s field trip, serve as a mentor, or lead a scout troop, there are plenty of ways to help children in your community. Volunteers are the backbone of school programs, charities, and many other organizations.
If you’re interested in volunteering to work with children in California, there are several steps the state asks you to take to keep the kids you’re working with safe. Here are a few of the requirements you might encounter on your volunteer application.
Which California volunteers need to take training?
School Volunteers
In 2026, California SB 848 made qualifying school volunteers mandated reporters, along with governing board members, certain contractors, and personnel at charter and private schools. The bill requires annual mandated reporter and abuse prevention training for covered school personnel, including relevant volunteers.
This means that if you volunteer at a school in California, you’ll likely need two types of training:
- Child Abuse Mandated Reporter Training: This training for school personnel and volunteers discusses the reporting of child abuse and neglect in California.
- Child Abuse Prevention Training: This training covers information on preventing abuse in school environments and school-sponsored programs, including topics like grooming and sexual abuse.
Volunteers at Youth Service Organizations
Not volunteering at a school? If you help out with an organization that works with kids in California, you might still need mandated reporter training.
Regular volunteers with youth service organizations in California are required to complete training on the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect. This requirement was put in place by California AB 506.
According to the bill, a regular volunteer is someone who is 18 years or older and works directly with children for more than 16 hours a month or 32 hours a year.
Affected volunteers are not considered mandated reporters by AB 506, but they do need training.
What other requirements do California volunteers have?
Depending on your organization and the type of volunteer work you’re doing, you may encounter other requirements. These can include:
Background Checks
You may also be asked to complete a background check when you apply to volunteer.
For example, California AB 506 requires that regular volunteers at youth service organizations undergo background checks. These background checks are intended to identify and exclude anyone with a history of child abuse. Additionally, certain volunteers at community care facilities may be required to complete a background check.
To complete a background check, you will submit your fingerprints through LiveScan in order to have a criminal history check conducted by the California Department of Justice.
Tuberculosis Risk Assessment
California law requires that school volunteers working with children be free of infectious tuberculosis.
These school volunteers will need to have a certificate on file with the school proving that they submitted a tuberculosis (TB) risk assessment and, if any risk factors were identified, were examined and found to be free of infectious tuberculosis.
A health care provider administers a TB risk assessment.
California Volunteer Training FAQs
Who is considered a volunteer?
According to the California Labor Code, a volunteer is someone who does civic, charitable, or humanitarian work for a public agency or 501(c)(3) without compensation. A volunteer may receive meals, lodging, transportation, incidental expenses, or another nonmonetary award without losing their volunteer status as long as those benefits aren’t a substitute for compensation for their work.
What if the volunteer is a minor?
The training and other legal requirements applicable to a volunteer may be different if the volunteer is younger than 18 years old.
For example, California AB 506 defines a “regular volunteer” as a volunteer with a youth service organization who is 18 or older. Likewise, California SB 848 specifies that a volunteer is a person 18 years of age or older.
What about volunteers who work with multiple organizations?
Many volunteers work with more than one organization. For example, you might serve as a tutor one week and help at an after-school program the next.
The Mandated Reporter Training Platform lets you easily download and print your certificate, or share it online with any organization associated with your account.
Explore training courses for California volunteers available now on the Mandated Reporter Training platform. Log in to get started.
